Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Circa 1860's CDV of an Abstract Pattern



Available here.

10 comments:

  1. I like it! Any speculation about what the image might represent?

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  2. You know, I've asked a few people and still haven't come to any firm conclusion. The "No. 41" in the corner tells us it's one in a series and the back shows that I guess it won a medal in a Photography exhibition in Berlin. Not sure what "prümm" means.

    What's your best guess?

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  3. I was thinking Th. Prümm was either the artist's name, or the name of the studio where the card was produced. Prümm is a German last name I believe. ?

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  4. Yeah, I think you may be right.

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  5. This is one of those optical tricks--anamorphic lettering-- very popular in the 19th century.

    Its definitely words or a phrase that is stretched and condensed, with another word/phrase turned 90 degrees and placed on top.

    I think you're supposed to look at it at a steep foreshortened angle to read it-- but it never works for me.

    let us know what you find!

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  6. Yes, Angela, its right ! Prümm is the name of this medal winner.
    And if you turns the card a little
    the kryptic lettering is readable, you will find this sentence:
    "If you love me as I love you"
    and turned 90 degrees:
    "Nothing but death shall part us two"
    How nice !!!

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  7. Angela and Falk,

    You guys ROCK! Thanks for solving that one!

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  8. Theodor Prümm had a photo studio in Berlin.

    He's mentioned in Baden Pritchard's 1885 guidebook, "les ateliers photographiques de l'europe"

    there's a copy for sale at acanthus.nl at the moment.

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